Quash: The only games that give me the urge to get a Wii U

With the announcement of the Wii U’s release date and starting price, the next question in people’s minds is if it’s worth getting. For me, I will consider a console based on the games available in the system. Features like the GamePad for example, become icing on the cake. There’s a good number of first and third-party titles confirmed to release from the day of console release up to March of 2013, but here are the titles so far that make me consider getting my own Wii U.

Zombi U

Announced at this year’s E3, this zombie survival game makes great use of the new GamePad. It’s an exclusive title coming from Ubisoft. You take a role of some random survivor and so far the gameplay is you trying to reach as far as you can without dying. What’s interesting about this one is if one zombie gets a hold of you, you can instantly die in one bite, so the pressure is definitely there. If you do die, you respawn with another random survivor. You can actually reach the point where your past survivor died, find your former self as a zombie, and kill him in order to get your old items.

Inventory is also accessed through the GamePad’s screen. That’s where you sort out your items. It’s a simple yet interesting idea because the game isn’t paused and you are forced to look away from the main screen to check out your inventory at the GamePad’s small screen. It’s added tension since you could be attacked while you’re getting the items needed. Same with unlocking doors and such.

Another cool concept is one multiplayer mode in Zombi U. One player controls a survivor and tries to stay alive as long as he can while the other player using the GamePad screen tries to kill you by planting zombies in your path.

Monster hunter 3 Ultimate

This was just announced I know, but I got so hyped when I heard the announcement. I love the Monster Hunter series, but the only thing missing is an HD title. Monster Hunter Tri in the Wii was a great attempt, but I want to play Monster Hunter on a HD console with higher visual capability. I’ve been hoping for such title to come out for either the PS3 or Xbox 360. There’s not much info about this game yet. So far, all we know is that this game is well underway.

It’s schedule for a March 2013 release and will be on Wii U and 3DS.

Bayonetta 2

Another exclusive title! Bayonetta 2 is a no brainer really, but I’m surprised Platinum Games took the jump and restricted their successful franchise to just the Wii U. Not much info about this game right now. Only a teaser trailer is up but there’s no actual gameplay footage of the game.

And that’s it! Yes, only three games give me the urge to get this console, and two were just announced awhile ago.

I’m still scratching my head to why there’s no big Nintendo title that would shoulder this console. The tech demo seeing Link fight a huge spider was enough to get everybody excited, but Nintendo already confirmed that is just to show case the system’s power. But if they gave some sort of teaser for any of Nintendo’s exclusive franchises( Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros), it would have been easier for casual and hardcore gamers to go crazy. With the strong third-party following, Nintendo is definitely trying to grab the core gamers, but most of them are still ports with added features.

On the casual side, I’m still not sure how this will pan out. Priced at $299.99, it sounds like a hard sell even with the very neat GamePad. The Wii had a strong selling point with the motion gaming and it did very well. For the Wii U, I’m not convinced it will do as well as the Wii. Nintendo Land and Super Mario Bros U do look appealing for the younger demographic, but I think the Wii can still do a better job at keeping the kids busy.

I’ll wait for more titles or announcements that would strike my interest. It is possible that I’ll get this uncontrollable urge to finally spend money on this console in the future. But right now, I’m nowhere close to that point.